Home : civilian New Zealanders remember the Second World War

Based on a series of oral histories, Alison Parr has chronicled the lives of ordinary people during the Second World War. These indepth interviews reveal the reality of life from fear of enemy invasion, deprivation resulting from rations to the intensity of wartime romantic relationships with American servicemen.

Alison also interviewed people who took a pacifist stand against the patriotic tide and others that hid their embarrassment when they were excluded from military service. Many lived with the ongoing anxiety of long-distance separation from loved ones and then endured the inevitable grief of loss.

Published by Penguin, images from June 2010 launch can be viewed on facebook.